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Fun Fact: In her spare time, she rides a scooter along with her husband and 3 and 5 year old scoot as a scooter team

“It’s pretty exciting to think about the scope/area of impact we can have on people. The vision we have around supporting students in many different areas across their ‘life cycle’, starting from high school through college, to careers, and really trying to support education in many different ways along that path is really cool. I also really like that at the end of the day, people aspire to be disruptive. I’ve been in a lot of meetings where people literally say, ‘If we’re actually going to disrupt this space, what will it take?’ I just think it’s great to have big, audacious goals. Go big or go home! We don’t need to fill in the margins; this is a big problem and we need big answers.”

What did you do before coming to Chegg?

Before coming to Chegg, I worked for a non-profit called “Teach For America” (TFA) for about five and a half years. I did a couple of different roles there, but in the last two years, I worked on their admissions team and I did a lot of data analysis and modeling related to selection. For reference, they get a big pool of applicants and they have to choose who they’re going to actually admit to the TFA corps. I did a lot of work related to scoring those applicants and how we should pick them.

Why did you decide to come to Chegg?

The biggest reason was because I’d been working at TFA for a long time, and I felt like I needed a change and new challenges. I started a job search and when it came down to it, I was choosing between working at Chegg and an Amazon subsidiary that focuses on education K-12 math support. I decided to come to Chegg because I really liked the people.

What are you proud of?

I cannot take full credit whatsoever since I’ve only been here [four] months, but I came in the tail end of the development of a new product we were creating for our school clients as part of our enrollment marketing business. It’s actually now live, where schools can log in and use it and has pretty nice interface too. It was very much a joint effort from lots of different teams, like analytics, data science engineering, front end engineering, and the UX (both research and design) teams. I think I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time. As far as I know, this is one of the first times we’ve done something like this at Chegg. I’m proud to have been a part of that. It’s just the very first piece of a much broader analytics program related to college admissions and student retention and advancement.

What have you been working on lately?

Recently, I participated in a summit hosted at Chegg HQ, which was all organized by our Sr. Business Development Manager, Gil Rogers. It was fun to be able to see our clients, speak to them, and present about our work. We were also able to show them the tool we’d developed for them and got feedback to see if they found it useful as well as what they liked and didn’t like about it. Right now, it’s a beta and we can scrap this thing and design it all from zero if we needed to.

As part of this beta program, we asked schools to send us data so that we could develop some reporting and some sort of prototype for what we could offer to schools. It fell on my shoulders to be the contact between the schools and manage that whole process. It wasn’t difficult in terms of arduous math or anything, but just involved in regards to staying organized. It’s been really fun working on that.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

I think how goofy the people are. I know that I joined because the people are really nice, but they’re also very fun too and I think that’s good because they have a good sense of humor and are supportive of each other.

Also, I used to work from home so I was excited about coming into an office because I like to be around people. I liked working from home for convenience and efficiency reasons, and it was especially nice while my kids were young. But I think I’m much happier being in the office.

How did you get into your field?

I meandered. I was very unimaginative as an undergraduate student majoring in Economics at Princeton. Everyone was going to New York. I did a summer internship after my junior year at a bank and I swore I would never do it, but I went back and did an investment banking stint. I then went on to live in France for two and a half years and did a Master’s degree at the Sorbonne the latter portion of the time I was there. I then went to Oxford to do my PhD, so I lived in the UK for four years.

I think the way I really ended up working in education is that when I was in grad school, I got an internship at the White House for the summer and worked for the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), which falls within the executive office of the President. While I was there, the person who was the full time health economist had left. During the internship, the chairman, Ben Bernanke, asked me to take on the duties of the health economist who had just left. I was nervous because I didn’t have any experience in health economics. But I got to work on some very interesting projects and to do a lot of policy related work, which I really liked. When I went back to grad school, I realized I wanted to do research in health economics. That led me eventually to my thesis advisor. He was a labor economist, interested in looking at understanding different experiences on earnings and work in developing countries; but he just happened to have some survey data from Africa that included a health questionnaire. So I ended up focusing on labor economics. And when you do labor economics, you think a lot about education and the interaction of education and other parts of your life.

As a Ph.D. student, you do a lot of research assistantships. I was lucky because I got the opportunity to work very closely with another woman at Oxford (Dr. Geeta Kingdon), who brought me to India to help her run a study on the effects of teachers on educational outcomes for primary school children. Because of my interest in health economics, I convinced her to add some health measurements to the study. So we weighed and measured the kids who were part of the study and also surveyed them about their general health (vaccinations, etc.).

After all of that, I had done a lot of work that looked at the impacts of health and education on lifetime outcomes, both for kids and adults. When I looked for my next role, I was interested in doing some health or education research. That eventually led me to work for Teach For America because they focus on education. Teach for America was then pretty formative for me, as someone who had not personally experienced educational injustice. At Teach For America, as I learned more, the education issues in our country really took hold and so I decided, as much as possible, I would like to work in the education space. When it came to looking for jobs outside of TFA, I definitely focused my search on education-related companies.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start in a role like this at Chegg?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that there are a lot of different types of data science, and it’s okay to feel like you might not know everything. When I started looking for jobs at first, I felt this intense pressure from myself that I should know all of these things and acquire a ton of new skills, when I’ve actually found that it’s okay to have your niche and specialization is good.

I think for Chegg in particular, the advice I would give to someone is “Don’t worry if at the beginning you don’t know what’s happening. You’ll start to learn.” I think that’s very true for any new job, but especially at Chegg since you’re given a lot of autonomy right from the first day. My advice to someone who’s new is don’t take it too seriously as there will be a lot of ambiguity at the beginning. Eventually you’ll start working on some stuff, and you’ll figure it out.

My general advice for job searching in data science is to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses, and let the person hiring you decide if you’re the right fit.

What excites you most about Chegg’s future?

I think what’s exciting is the scale of our potential impact on what many see as an intractable problem. We reach millions of students every day. Also, the scalability of digital products is huge. It’s pretty exciting to think about the scope/area of impact we can have on people. The vision we have around supporting students in many different areas across their “life cycle”, starting from high school through college, to careers, and really trying to support education in many different ways along that path is really cool. I also really like that at the end of the day, people aspire to be disruptive. I’ve been in a lot of meetings where people literally say, “If we’re actually going to disrupt this space, what will it take?” I just think it’s great to have big, audacious goals. Go big or go home! We don’t need to fill in the margins; this is a big problem and we need big answers.

Fun Fact: He likes to volunteer in the local Indian community by joining meet-up groups, supporting causes, and dancing in cultural events.

“I decided Chegg would be the best choice because of the culture and their openness not only to new ideas, but technologies as well, which is something I hadn’t experienced before when I worked at larger companies”

What did you do before coming to Chegg?

I worked in the same role at different companies such as Samsung, T-Mobile, Qualcomm, and I joined a bio-tech company at one point because I needed to relocate to the bay area. Previously, I mostly worked in software engineering as a Software Developer in Test.

Why did you decide to come to Chegg?

After working 2 years at Qualcomm, I decided to move to the bay area due to family circumstances and started working for a bio-tech start-up thereafter. Prior to coming to Chegg, I was mostly working on the mobile side and mostly with Android and iOS kind of things. Upon considering all of my offers for my next role, which came from companies ranging from start-ups to a large company and Chegg, I decided Chegg would be the best choice because of the culture and their openness not only to new ideas, but technologies as well, which is something I hadn’t experienced before when I worked at larger companies. Since I’ve been working here, I’ve found that what I had read online was what I found to be true.

What are you proud of?

In the last 6-7 months since I’ve been here, I have two things that I’m proud of. The first project involved moving me from a different project onto this project because it was such a high priority and has a direct impact on the Chegg business since it involves our transition over to Ingram. First, I had to understand everything from back end and front end and how the process worked and how it affected our payments system, which is really critical for any business. We are now close to completing this project and are moving onto the next phase.

The second project involved measuring our site performance and building a culture around it within the company. When I joined Chegg, my manager pointed out that we should build something to start measuring how our site performs under different circumstances and build more awareness and even a culture around it across departments. So I built out a framework that lets us test how particular modules perform in particular roads, how it scales with different parts of the website, along with different api’s and databases. It’s a work in progress, but it’s a good start because it’s never been done the way it’s being done right now and enables teams to cross check their work. Before they were never able to find any tool or software that would enable them to use it in this manner. Now it’s becoming a Chegg priority and more people are using it.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

I would say what mostly surprised me is how much easier it is to reach upper management. It’s really easy because you can just walk up to their desk whereas at a big company, I would have to go through multiple layers of managers before I could even reach the VP. The second thing that has surprised me since working here is task sprint for our departments. As an employee, I can see what’s going on with the business, what new features are coming, which keeps me in the loop of what’s happening with Chegg. The third thing that has surprised me is the culture. You don’t need permission to talk to another team or anybody else. You can just walk to a different department and ask for help on something and they usually help you; you don’t have to go through the manager. It’s a culture thing where it’s really open and you can talk to anyone about anything and if you have any problems, you can share it with them. So it’s very collaborative between the teams, which makes it really helpful because it makes it very efficient while you do your work. The fourth thing that surprised me is the open-mindedness of everybody, especially for managers towards new technologies. For example, we could be using this type of technology this week, but if I suggest an alternative, they usually will allow me to use it the next week to test out and compare which is better to use. Especially with my big company background, it was very surprising to me.

How did you get into your field?

When I was in high school, computers were the new thing. I was fascinated by how they worked, the internet, and those types of things. In my family, most of the people were in the army and headed there once they were of age. If I didn’t go into computer science, I would’ve gone into the army. I decided to pursue a career involving computers because I enjoyed them and figured I would at least try it out and it worked out! Engineering is a little more costly compared to other careers, but I managed with the help of my parents.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start in a role like this at Chegg?

Software Engineering in Test is a different path because it’s a mixture of a couple of different areas. Imagine, you went to a car manufacturer company and you see a lot of robot tools that are making the car. These robot tools are a lot more complex than the car itself. So if you think of it within this framework, you, as a software engineer in test, are building the actual robots to complete those types of jobs. You have to have the overall picture of the product and how that particular system works and then have the capability to look at the details of the system itself. This is the main attitude change that needs to happen. With this understanding of how everything factors into everything else as a whole, then you can create the tools that make it possible for the developer or the QA tester to test out their parts and how it affects the rest of the system. You’re not just testing one feature, but rather how that feature works with the whole system overall.

Also, you should have at least good programming skills, either Java, Python, or any programming language. The specific programming languages are the languages that we’re mostly looking for since we use them at Chegg. In addition to this, it is always good to know some type of tool, such as Selenium (front end), database, and how the website works internally and how it tracks with the client and the database. These aren’t hard tasks to learn and the information is easily accessible since a lot of it is on the internet already.What excites you most about Chegg’s future?

The one thing is us going digital. Dan was talking about how it’s going to give Chegg the chance to grow internationally as well. I’m also excited about our upcoming partnerships with other companies because they’re another way of reaching the student. These are some of the things I’m really excited about.

Fun Fact: Her favorite morning show is First Take. She always love a great debate!

“Chegg is a company where you are surrounded by individuals who are not only accomplished and knowledgeable but also genuine. People here are passionate, driven, and innovative which is the type of environment that I want to be a part of. Chegg also provides a great atmosphere to learn, develop, and grow.”

What did you do before coming to Chegg?

Before coming to Chegg, I was clerking for a solo practitioner in Los Angeles. It was a great experience where I was able to grow my analytical and professional skills.

Why did you decide to come to Chegg?

I started at Chegg on a project based assignment and quickly realized how special Chegg really is. Chegg is a company where you are surrounded by individuals who are not only accomplished and knowledgeable but also genuine. People here are passionate, driven, and innovative which is the type of environment that I want to be a part of. Chegg also provides a great atmosphere to learn, develop, and grow. I also strongly believe in Chegg’s vision, which is to put students first. Being a student for such a long time, it is not only something that I can identify with but also find extremely motivating to work towards. It is invigorating that people here are also extremely passionate about Chegg’s vision. So, when I was presented with the opportunity to permanently become a part of the legal team, I jumped at the chance to be able to work with amazing people in an enjoyable environment towards the common goal of helping students succeed.

What are you proud of?

I am most proud to be part of a legal team that is very service-oriented. Every department here at Chegg does their part towards helping Chegg move forward and succeed as a company. Our legal department helps facilitate the end goals of our colleagues by providing legal assistance when needed. I am also very proud that I was able to help improve the Enrollment Marketing contracts process. Through the hard work of everyone involved, we have been able to implement a contracts process that is beneficial to all departments involved while still maintaining a quick turnaround on agreements.

What have you been working on lately?

One of my ongoing projects is helping to streamline the contracts process to make it more efficient. I really enjoy this part of my job because it allows me to continue to learn and develop. It also gives me the opportunity to work cross functionally with different people here at Chegg. Seeing the different agreements that come through the contracts process is also a great way for me to learn about the different ventures within the company.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

I think the one thing that surprised me most about Chegg when I first started was all of the little things the organization does to help make everyone feel like they are a part of the Chegg family whether it be providing Chegg “swag,” celebrating the different holidays, or randomly providing delicious crepes for breakfast! I think all of these small social events really bring people together and creates a special working environment.

How did you get into your field?

After graduating from undergrad at U.C. Berkeley, I worked for an immigration attorney as a legal assistant. The attorney that I worked for assisted individuals who would not have otherwise had access to legal aid. It was here that I really learned to appreciate how a career in law can impact the lives of others for the better whether in a personal or professional setting. It was here that I decided that I wanted to be a part of the legal field.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start in a role like this at Chegg?

I would say to take advantage of every opportunity presented, no matter how small because you never know what may come from it. Work hard, be disciplined, and never be afraid to ask questions and inevitably make mistakes. Most important, do what you love in an atmosphere that you enjoy and want to be a part of.

What excites you most about Chegg’s future?

I am most excited about Chegg’s evolution within the educational platform and the growth of Chegg’s Student Hub is going to allow us to provide even more services to students to help them succeed in their journey from high school to college, through college, and eventually into their dream jobs. The idea that we can help students through this entire process is amazing! It is motivating to know that as Chegg grows, we will continue to “put students first.”

Today we are proud to announce a new step forward in supporting students and lifelong learners. Starting this spring, Chegg will launch a college loan reduction plan for full-time Chegg employees. The loan reduction plan will be provided in partnership with Tuition I.O., a personal-finance management site for student borrowers.

With reports of student loan debt reaching an all-time high of $1.2 trillion, Chegg is taking an innovative action to combat an issue that is plaguing past and present students.

“We will continue to speak out publicly and nationally on this subject,” said Rosensweig. “But we also want to start helping our own employees now and start a new trend in business benefits. With any luck, other companies will soon follow our lead.”

Chegg will contribute an annual amount toward paying down full-time employees’ student loans, and will be rolling out an on-line loan management tool to help optimize payments. More details of the loan reduction plan are expected to be announced next week.

Fun Fact: In college, he wanted to be a writer/director like Quentin Tarantino.

“We’re already a behemoth in the education space, but I think we can be even bigger and there’s so much potential and so much runway for us that I believe we’re just getting started. I’m thrilled about the future of Chegg.”

What did you do before coming to Chegg?

I was actually part of the Student of Fortune acquisition by Chegg, which was around the same time as the Zinch acquisition. It was a really small team and I was more or less the marketing guy there, so I did SEO, social media, and a little bit of everything in between.

Why did you decide to stay with Chegg?

I decided to stay with Chegg because like most people, I really do believe in the mission. At the time I joined, Chegg was mostly a textbook rental company, but I knew that they had acquired Cramster and now Student of Fortune, so I just liked the direction the company was headed in. I actually knew a little bit about Dan too in regards to his success as the CEO of Guitar Hero so I was excited to see how the company would turn out under his leadership. He really defined that industry and I thought it was impressive. I also played A LOT of Guitar Hero in college.

What are you proud of?

Probably surviving the most recent textbook rush. This was my first textbook rush where I was the SEO lead. It was a little nerve-racking and in general it’s a pretty intense time of year for everybody involved. The long hours get to you after a while – but I made it out alive. Not only that, but everything went very smoothly and I was very proud of it. Acting as the SEO lead really brought out a lot of qualities in me that I wouldn’t have recognized or known about otherwise. There’s a tendency to be a little complacent – and not that I wasn’t challenged before – but when put into a new position where you have no choice but to be challenged and questioned… it really forces you to step up. I feel like I’ve learned a new side of myself through this experience and I’m excited to explore it. I can apply it to my career at hand.

What have you been working on lately?

The funny thing is as textbook rush winds down, Chegg Study rush winds up. We have a lot of SEO projects coming up that involve adding tons of new pages along with some image optimization projects. On top of that, we have a few massive domain migrations that we’re working on that involve a lot of work and preparation. It’ll be great to have everyone in the Chegg Student experience though. I’m excited to see how that goes. Once everything is on Chegg.com, there will be a lot of optimizations after that. Personally, I’m just trying to reach as many students as possible.

Has anything surprised you about working here?

Just how profoundly intelligent everyone is here. It can be a little intimidating. I knew that when I moved up to Silicon Valley of course, but there’s a lot of smart people here who are also hard-working and driven. It wasn’t until I found myself in the middle of it that I realized how on top of their game everyone was. That leaves little room for error because someone will call you on it, but it’s been a pleasure because it makes you step up, keeps you on your toes, and makes you work harder because you can never rest on your laurels. You have to be on the top of your game too. It’s been great working with everyone here.

How did you get into your field?

I actually took a funny path. When I graduated from Boston University, my degree was in advertising as a creative copywriter. I worked at a number of ad agencies in Boston filling numerous copywriting jobs before moving out West. When I was looking for new copywriting jobs in LA, I stumbled upon a few jobs that were part copywriting, part SEO because the theory is that if you can write copy for consumers, you can write copy for search engines. There’s a bit of a crossover there, so I more or less hopped around from job to job where I was doing part SEO and part copywriting and eventually, when I came to Chegg, there was a need for a full-time SEO. To this day, I still do a little copywriting for Chegg, which I enjoy because it gives me the ability to tap into my creative side.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to start in a role like this at Chegg?

Specifically for the SEO team, just getting to know every department and the playmakers in those departments. Due to the nature of SEO, we work with so many different teams such as design, engineering, and product. Just knowing who to talk to anytime we have an idea, a bug to report, or if there’s something blocking us, it’s helpful because it easier to maneuver the system if you know the key players. In general, I just always believe in not only knowing who those department leads are on a professional level, but also getting to know them on a personal level too. Having that type of foundation just makes it so much easier to work with each other and if you ever do butt heads – which will happen – then it’s never anything personal; it’s just two people trying to get their opinions heard.

What excites you most about Chegg’s future?

The general direction Chegg is headed in excites me – the potential to enter any landscape in the education industry we choose. If that means more acquisitions or just new products that we launch, I’m really excited about that because that just means there are more opportunities and more things for me to work on. I like doing SEO at Chegg because I can work on so many different types of things and switch it up rather than just focusing on one project every day. We’re already a behemoth in the education space, but I think we can be even bigger and there’s so much potential and so much runway for us that I believe we’re just getting started. I’m thrilled about the future of Chegg.